EVANGELISM
by: Darwin Dewar A
ll of us who follow Christ are called to the task of evanglism.
Sadly, witnessing to unbelievers about the Christian faith is a scary prospect
for many churchgoers. I often hear their worries expressed like this: “But
what if I get into a discussion and don’t know the answer?” or “What if they get
angry with me?” or “What if I end up looking stupid?” We all struggle with the
fear of being rejected. We also are afraid we will “lose” the argument. But we
must understand that evangelism is not arguing. First, Peter 3:15 says: “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” (NIV). In Philemon we are encouraged to “be active in sharing
[our] faith, so that [we] will have a full understanding of every good thing we have
in Christ” (v.6). Note that both of these verses are intended to be applied within the context of active evangelism—not passive religious discussion or arguing. Jesus never argued with anybody. He most certainly had His differences of
opinion with the Pharisees, but He didn’t fight with them. The Bible says we are
called to be witnesses—not debaters. To be effective in evangelism we must
simply learn to rely on the Holy Spirit’s power—and be prepared to respond to the
questions others have about our faith. In my many witnessing experiences on
college campuses, I’ve learned to lean on the Holy Spirit for guidance in my
conversations. I’ve also learned that most people have the same common excuses. But rest assured, God is not looking for expert witnesses who have doctorates in
theology. He is, however, looking for faithful witnesses who are willing to share
their faith with others. Here are five of the most common objections people will
express when you share the gospel with them: 1. Don’t all religions teach
basically the same things but just use some different names for God? Because of my father’s job with the Canadian Embassy, I have traveled to and
lived in more than 40 nations. I encountered a number of world religions, philosophies and ideologies in my own search for truth. Looking beneath the surface
similarities, the world’s religions are significantly different. One major difference
is the contradictory view of the nature of God. For example, some forms of Buddhism do not teach about God at all. Hinduism
teaches that multiple gods exist and that even rocks, trees and animals are part of
these gods . Christianity teaches that God exists but that He is separate from all
creation. Because various world religions offer mutually exclusive definitions, they
cannot possibly be descriptions of the same God. Most religions see Jesus as a prophet from God but riot as who He claimed to be—
the incarnation of God Himself. The Bible describes Jesus in an unprecedented fashion found in no other sacred text—as “the Word became flesh” (John 1:14). Other religions also deny that Jesus’ mission was to give His life on the cross as a payment for our sins. Jesus is unique in that He not only claimed to be God but also proved it through His resurrection. People who think all religions are the same usually ask, “As long as you are sincere, what difference does it make what you believe?” Consider Adolf Hitler,
Charles Manson and Osama bin Laden. Were these men not sincere? Sincerity is never a measure of truth. And sincerely believing something doesn’t make it
true. You can be very sincere and wrong at the same time. 2. Isn’t it narrow-minded for Christians to think they’re the only ones who
are right? I hear the “Christians are narrow-minded” argument all the time. Modem pluralists
say they want a “tolerant” society that embraces all religions and lifestyles. They
want a world where anything goes. Yet Jesus never talked about tolerance but
rather commanded His followers to demonstrate a far higher objective—to show
love to all people. Though it is possible to tolerate someone without loving him, the
reverse is impossible. Jesus was not a model of tolerance. He was so intolerant of
our lost condition, in fact, that He came to Earth to do something about it! He was
intolerant of a number of things, including sin, hypocrisy and selfishness. The issue
is not really with us . It was Jesus Himself who said: “ ‘I am the way, the truth, and
the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me”’ (John 14:6, NKJV). Jesus claimed to be the unique pathway to God and to eternal life . The important
question is whether or not we have good reason to accept His position over all the
other options. I say this to people who think Christianity is narrow-minded : “Do
you believe that 1+1=2? Do you believe that water boils at 212 F at sea level? >If so, should you be considered narrow-minded, or do you have good reason for
believing these are the only acceptable answers?” 3. I don’t believe the Bible, It is a book of myths and legends put together by
pro-scientific men marked by superstitions and fears. When people bring up this objection, I usually ask them, “Have you ever read the
Bible?” Unfortunately, most haven’t. If they respond positively, I ask them,
“How much of the Bible have you read?” Typically they have read very little. If
they claim to have read the entire Bible I ask them, “What do you believe the central message of the Bible is?” At this point most get it wrong. The vast majority of
people who have a negative opinion of the Bible have formulated it before reading
the text. We must remember, however, to be gentle when reminding people of their incon-sistencies so that we don’t discourage them from further dialogue as we direct them
toward the cross. The Bible stands head and shoulders above any work of anti-quity for both trustworthiness and bibliographical accuracy. The New Testament,
in particular, offers a greater number of surviving manuscript copies (about 24,000)
and a shorter time span between copies (50 years) than any other bibliographical
work in the world! Norman L. Geisler and William E. Nix comment in A General
Introduction to the Bible, “For all practical purposes the modern critical editions
of the Hebrew and Greek texts of the Bible represent, with their footnotes, exactly
what the autographs (original documents) contained—line for line, word for word,
and even letter for letter.” The Bible tells us that “above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Script-ure came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its
origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the
Holy Spirit” (2 Pet. 1:20-21, NIV). Like most other sacred texts, Scripture claims
to be divinely inspired. The uniqueness of the Bible is that it is the only holy book
in the world having substitutionary atonement as its core belief Jesus satisfied the
demands of justice from a holy God, enabling the guilty parties (you and me) to be
forgiven and experience true freedom through His death and resurrection. No other religion in the world can offer you that. As you read the Bible, the Holy Spirit makes the text come alive, giving new understanding and revelation in a personally applicable way. Because it is divinely inspired it consequently is author-itative to all areas of life. It speaks beyond the intellect to the depths of the heart,
empowering us to make positive inner choices (repentance and faith) that produce
beneficial lifestyle changes (regeneration and sanctification). 4. If a loving and all-powerful God really exists, why doesn’t He do something
about the evil in the world? This is a difficult question. We must come to the realization that evil is not just
some vague force that hovers around somewhere; instead it is personal and lives
within each of us. If God wanted to get rid of evil, He would have to get rid of us
as well! God created us with a free with because He loves us. We can each choose to love
and follow Him or to reject and turn away from Him. Without free will there would
be no love. We all have chosen at various times in our lives to rebel against Him
and follow our own inclinations. Realizing we are part of the “evil” that people say
God “should do something about” gives us a new and humble perspective. With
free will comes consequences for the things we choose. We live in a culture that
cries out for freedom of choice but hates the responsibilities that come with it. Consider the many lawsuits that have been initiated against fast food restaurants
because people chose to eat there but then got fat. This “passing the buck” ment-ality is symptomatic of our fallen nature (see Gen. 3). If God were to limit the
consequences of evil, our free will would disappear, and moral consequences would become a mere game . Suffering often teaches us life’s greatest lessons . In fact, the
Bible says that even Jesus learned through what He suffered (see Heb. 5:8). The Bible does tell us that God is both “just” and “merciful.” In His mercy. He is
patiently giving us time to turn to Him and receive the forgiveness and life He
offers. God also promises that He will put an end to all evil and one day will execute final judgment. Ironically, the existence of evil should lead us toward belief in
God, not away from it. Without God there would be no standard of right and
wrong. The concepts of both “good” and “evil” are moral values or judgments that denote
the existence of a moral governor (God). Without God, we would have come into
existence by chance, and whatever we do would have no meaning or moral value,
positive or negative. Some people claim to believe this is the case, but their next
responses to life often reveal inconsistencies in their own convictions. As soon as
they complain about some “injustice” or “unfair” situation or claim that someone
has “wronged” them, they are making moral judgments about what is “right” and
“wrong.” These judgments betray their belief in standards that are ultimately above
us all— standards that come not from us but from God. 5. I don’t believe in God. What kind of proof can you offer me that He
exists? Science points to the highly complex order in the universe. We also see complexity and order in the human body. Elementary logic tells us that any type of design
demands a designer. At this point another question often arises: Where did God Himself come from? According to the Bible, God is the uncaused cause of all things. He always existed. In the Bible, His existence is considered an axiom (a self-evident truth). Because of
the abundant evidence of Him in nature, He in no way attempts to justify that He
exists. But evidence is found in written history. Jewish, Roman, Greek and other sources all support the miraculous events of Jesus’ life . Examples include His fulfilling more than 330 specific prophecies recorded hundreds of years earlier and performing numerous miracles. The single biggest reason I know that God exists is that 23 years ago He changed my life in a way that was humanly impossible. I found that in spite of doing well both academically and athletically, there remained a distinct lack of overall purpose
and direction to my life. The ultimate fulfillment I sought was finally realized when
I accepted Christ. His forgiveness and love has completely altered the course of my
life. His peace and joy are now a daily reality. Like me, most Christians have a testimony about the ways in which Jesus has also changed their lives. If you learn to share your story often and effectively and to
answer the objections unbelievers may pose, you will find evangelism easy and will
bring many souls to faith in Jesus. DARWIN DSWAR is associate pastor of Church on 99 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He is also a chaplain at the University of Alberta. SOURCE: CHARISMA Magazine March 2005. (pgs. 56-59) Return to words of wisdom, faiths index © Church of the Science of GOD, 1993
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